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2015–16 NHL season
The 2015–16 NHL season will be the 99th season of operation (98th season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). It will begin on October 7, 2015 and end on April 9, 2016. League Business In December of 2014, commissioner Gary Bettman told teams that he projected the salary cap to increase to at least $73 million for the 2015-16 season, citing the fluctuating value of the Canadian dollar. Rule Changes On June 24, 2015, the rule changes approved by the NHL Board of Governors include: ** Like the NFL, each challenge will require the use of a team's timeout. If the challenge is successful, the timeout is restored. ** Teams may only challenge the following situations: *** Whether a goal called on the ice should have instead been disallowed because the attacking team was offside. *** Whether a goal called on the ice should have instead been disallowed because of goalkeeper interference. *** Whether a disallowed goal, called on grounds of goalkeeper interference, should instead be overturned because either: **** there was no actual contact between the attacking player and the goalie **** the attacking player was actually pushed or fouled by a defender into the goalie **** the attacking player's position in the crease did not actually impair or impact the goalie's play ** Inside the final minute of regulation, and during overtime, all reviews that would otherwise be subject to the coach's challenge will instead be initiated by the NHL's Situation Room in Toronto. *New faceoff rule: During most faceoffs, the player who is on the defensive side of the red line will now be required to put his stick down first. For faceoffs at the center-ice dot, the visiting player will still be the first one to place down his stick. This rule change, giving the attacking team a slightly better advantage during most faceoffs (as oppose to giving this advantage to the home team all the time), is intended to help increase puck-possession time and potentially more goals. New York Islanders' First Season in Brooklyn The 2015-16 season will mark the New York Islanders' first season at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York after previously playing at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Edmonton Oilers' Last Season at Rexall Place The 2015–16 NHL season will also be the final season at which the Edmonton Oilers will play at Rexall Place (the home of the team since the 1974-75 NHL season. After the 2015-16 season, they will move to Rogers Place. Uniforms *The Arizona Coyotes unveiled new home and away jerseys. The primary logo stays the same. The jerseys have added a large black stripe on each arm running from just below the shoulder to the elbow. From there it's red-white-red before it runs white right to the cuff. There's a single hem stripe, black on homes and red on the whites. The home red features a new shoulder patch, a beige/sand coyote paw print with a black "A" on it. The road white features a modernized "AZ/map" patch, with the font updated to match the new team wordmark. The pants are black, socks are red, black and white similar to the striping on each arm. The new home and away jerseys replace the home and away jerseys that the Coyotes unveiled last year. *The Columbus Blue Jackets altered their home and road jerseys slightly. The blue Union Army cap shoulder patch worn from the 2003-04 NHL season until the 2014–15 NHL season is now gone and replaced with a new shoulder patch logo. The new shoulder patch logo features the 1857 Napoleon cannon. It is very similar to the club's current third jersey, with the only difference is that the logo features the club's primary colors: Union Blue, Goal Red, Capital Silver and White. *The Edmonton Oilers unveiled a new throwback jersey. This new throwback jersey is a remake of the jersey worn by the franchise during their first two seasons as a member of the World Hockey Association back in the early 1970s. The jersey is orange with blue and white shoulders and blue/white/blue stripes on the sleeves. The numbers are in the same location as the original WHA jersey that they're based off of. *The Montreal Canadiens unveiled new home and away jerseys. Four brass hexagonal eyelets and white laces will be reintroduced around the collar, which will also revert to pure white in color. On the team’s red home jersey, the French “LNH” logo will be stitched at the nape of the neck, and the lone exception to the English “NHL” on the away jersey. It is very similar to the club's home and away jerseys worn from the 1970–71 NHL season to the 1974–75 NHL season. The new home and away jerseys replace the home and away jerseys worn from the 2007–08 NHL season until the 2014–15 NHL season. *The Washington Capitals added a new third jersey to their lineup. The primary color for the uniform is red and closely resembles the team’s jersey worn from 1974–75 through 1994–95 seasons. The original Capitals wordmark is featured on the front of the jersey with six stars above it and five stars beneath the numbers on each sleeve. The Capitals will wear blue pants and red helmets with their third jerseys. The new third jersey replace the white third jersey the Capitals wore from 2011–12 to the 2014–15 NHL season. Regular Season Winter Classic Stadium Series NHL All-Star Game Coaching Changes